2016 Porsche 911 Carrera 4S driven

When did an “ordinary” Porsche 911 become a six-figure purchase? Admittedly, the car in question is well-specced, but even so, such numbers insinuate the presence of a fairly senior supercar.

You could – and I’m sure that Porsche would – argue that the startling performance delivered by a modern 911 Carrera 4S, such as the one tested, places it very much in the domain of the supercar.

Its turbocharged engine produces 414bhp, which, when fully deployed, causes your face to contort in all manner of strange ways. And the engine’s turbocharged torque is so strong in the lower parts of the rev range that there is literally no gear too high or no stretch of road too short for overtaking slower traffic to feel anything other than obligatory.

Specify the £2,388 Porsche Doppelkupplung (that’s German for “unpronounceable”) automatic gearbox and things become sillier still, because you get a little button on the steering wheel that, for 20-second bursts, puts all of the car’s functions into full-attack mode.

I tried pressing it when cruising at 70mph on the motorway, at which point it dropped from seventh gear to third, and made the accelerator Sabatier sharp. Over the following mile or so I could have accelerated to its 188mph top speed at a rate that would drop cars costing twice the money. In reality, what with not wanting to go to jail, I just pressed the button again and reverted to cruising mode.

Such functions sound like pure gimmickry, but actually I rather like this one. The idea that you could ever use this car’s full performance for any more than 20sec is, after all, ambitious, but in short bursts it’s terrific.

I also fully endorse having your Carrera as a 4, because that “4” signifies four-wheel drive, which you need given the power output of a modern 911. I’ve tried a rear-wheel-drive one in the wet and applying anything more than half-throttle in the lower gears resulted once again in contorted cheeks, only this time they weren’t the ones on my face.

Being able to throw a bit of drive to the front wheels now and then makes the 911 a friendlier, more approachable car for those who think that drifting is something that should be done on a gap year rather than in a car.

Reality is, most buyers are just as concerned about whether they can link their iPhone via Apple CarPlay (they can) or how quickly the satnav responds (very). The fact that you can also cram a couple of kids in the back seats and a few bags of shopping in the boot doesn’t hurt, either.

And so, this 911 Carrera 4S is a subtle, supercar-baiting sports car that you could honestly drive every day of the year, through sun, snow, rain and ice, all the while getting up to 30mpg if you’re sensible.

Strange, when you take all that into account, that the price still makes me wince.